Senior Environmental Health Specialist

City Of Minneapolis-Human Resources

Senior Environmental Health Specialist

Minneapolis ,

Minnesota

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Position Description The Senior Environmental Health Specialist serves as a technical expert in one or more of the division's program areas, trains inspection staff, and ensures consistency with interpreting codes, writing reports, and enforcing regulations. These required responsibilities are accomplished through department technical meetings, food code standardizations, other internal trainings, and by answering technical questions and leading staff discussions. This technical expert role also encompasses being able to help guide the department through data analysis and reporting, keeping up with current code discussions through participation with local, State, and Federal agencies, following city ordinances, and abiding by our State delegation agreements. The position exists and is required to lead the division in the absence of supervisors. The Senior Environmental Health Specialist serves as liaison and department representative for government partners, the public, and other non-governmental organizations. The City of Minneapolis does not sponsor applicants for work visas Work Location This position currently works on-site only. Job Duties and Responsibilities Serve as technical lead and subject matter expert to inspectors and seasonal and contracted inspection staff. Train inspection staff in all applicable duties of environmental health inspections and oversee program areas to ensure consistency so that the public's health in Minneapolis is protected. Coordinate and lead specific program areas as a larger portion of their workload as compared to an Environmental Health Specialist II. Program areas may include but is not limited to the following: standardization of staff per delegation agreements with MDA and MDH; data analysis for division; reviewing HACCP plans; plan reviews; swimming pools; board and lodging; food permitting for short term events; farmers markets; stadiums and large venues; tattoo and body art; foodborne illness outbreak investigations; and community outreach. Conduct environmental health inspections which are risk-based field inspections of licensed food and beverage establishments, pools and spas, daycare centers, lodging and boarding facilities, schools, tanning and body art establishments, farmers' markets, short term/special events; and other environmental health-related operations to ensure compliance with public health standards, codes, and ordinances. Provide competent education and consultation to business operators, building relationships that facilitate compliance and success. Routinely measure critical quantitative values, including: hot holding and cold holding food temperatures time/temperature parameters for safe cooking, cooling and reheating of foods, food pH, dish sanitizer concentrations, corresponding contact time, temperature of hot water-sanitizing equipment, swimming water chemistry concentrations including free chlorine, combined chlorine, bromine, cyanuric acid, total alkalinity, pH, temperature. Lead responses to emergencies, and day-to-day operation in the absence of supervisors. Lead foodborne and waterborne illness outbreak investigations, typically serving as Incident Commander within the ICS response structure. Conduct annual analysis of foodborne disease outbreaks. Serve as division representative on various departmental, multi-department, interagency committees, task forces, or workgroups. Coordinate data analysis requests and reporting activities for the work unit. Serve as an internal and external consultant to provide information, records, process requirements, and code interpretation. Senior Inspectors typically communicate such information directly to members of the public, other city departments, Minnesota Departments of Health and Agriculture, community organizations, and non-governmental organizations. When City elected officials request the information from other City department heads through the Director or media organizations, Senior Inspectors typically pr vide such information to the Director. When resources are needed to develop specific services or deliverables outside available resources, a Senior Environmental Health Specialist may coordinate FDA or other grant applications or may co-coordinate applications with the Community Engagements Liaison. Oversee the development of educational materials for current and potential businesses, and community organizations and sharing these resources through the city website, social media, eNews, and other effective methods. Participate in Public Health Emergency Preparedness planning and training and respond to emergencies when they occur. Examples include pandemic/epidemic responses, displacement of vulnerable persons by structural fires, setting up of emergency shelters, and ensuring sanitation services for unsheltered persons. When emergencies occur, responding as assigned becomes the immediate priority of this position. Accurately identify when additional actions such as food plan review, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point plans, or consultations with other City departments or other agencies are warranted. Provide direct education and consultation to business operators, building relationships that facilitate both compliance with safety standards and success for our businesses. Assess specific needs of business to achieve compliance; when appropriate, refer business to supports such as targeted training and community grants for equipment replacement / procurement. Write comprehensive health inspection reports and provide reports to business operators - citing code violations, documenting corrective actions taken during inspection, and issuing corrective orders for those violations not able to be immediately corrected. Issue citations and take other enforcement actions for ongoing health code violations that have not been resolved through education and consultation. Perform embargo and/or condemnation of food or equipment that may pose an imminent health risk to the public. Recommend approval or denial of new licenses. Investigate complaints received from the public and complaints of alleged foodborne illness received from the Minnesota Department of Health. Conduct compliance hearings with operators. Lead compliance hearings with operators, in place of supervisor, when necessary. Assess food businesses in the wake of a fire, sewage back up, power outage, water outage, or other emergency to determine when it is safe to reopen and what food may be salvaged vs. discarded. Perform other related duties as assigned. Working Conditions Office Environment and field environment Required Qualifications Minimum Education Bachelor's degree in sciences such as Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Physics, Biophysics, Genetics, Immunology, Physiology, Toxicology, Virology, Environmental Health, Public Health and Environmental Studies or similar. Candidate must have one of the following in order to have qualified to sit for the Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) exam, which is required by MN Rule 4695.2500 and applies to all Environmental Health Specialists in Minnesota: Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Health from an institution accredited by the Environmental Health Accreditation Council National Master's Degree in Environmental Health from an institution accredited by the Environmental Health Accreditation Council National Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree in any area, as long as it includes, or as long as candidate has separately attained, a minimum 45 quarter credits or 30 semester credits in Life Sciences, Natural Sciences, Physical Sciences or Health Sciences, and at least one college level math or statistics course. Minimum Experience Five (5)... For full info follow application link. The City of Minneapolis is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer.

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